AIX Racing aiming high after strong Budapest Qualifying performance

The team led the pack 1-2-3 at one point but despite not holding onto their positions, AIX Racing were a happy camp following Qualifying having recorded one of their best results of 2024.

With P10 and P11 for Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak and Nikita Bedrin respectively, it marked the team’s strongest performance on a Friday since Round 2 in Melbourne, where Bedrin achieved P4 on the grid ahead of teammate Joshau Dufek in P13.

While Dufek lost the P6 spot he’d provisionally earned due to a technical infringement and subsequent disqualification, the team were very satisfied with their efforts around the Hungaroring.

“It was a really positive Qualifying for the team overall,” Inthraphuvasak said afterwards. “We chose the correct strategy which was to go out on the new tyres straight from the box which played into our hands.”

It was telling that both felt there was an even stronger lap in the cars and that the only preventing factor was the Red Flag rather than any balance concerns.

Bedrin and Inthraphuvasak believe that a top five result was on the cards had the session not been curtailed due to the late stoppage following Luke Browning’s crash at Turn 11.

“I think a top five was possible in my opinion,” Bedrin surmised. “It was quite a surprise because on the first set I felt that the balance wasn’t so great, but then we were 1-2-3.

“We were fast from the beginning. I think it was a good banker lap on the first set, many people struggled with getting the tyres started and it was one of our issues too which compromised our running.”

Inthraphuvasak was equally punchy also.

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“It definitely felt like a good lap. I was actually looking on the live stream where we were on the tower and when I saw 1-2-3, I was pretty surprised.”

“There was more on the table. My first push ended up being my fastest push but there was much more on the table, and we would’ve improved without the Red Flag on the third set. But my first push was good enough for the top 12 in this case, so happy with it.”

With strong starting positions for the Sprint Race, hopes and targets are high in the AIX camp for what Saturday at the Hungaroring might bring.

For Bedrin, it’s familiar territory having been on the front row in the 2023 Sprint Race last season. He was able to convert that into a podium result and is eager to make the most of this year’s opportunity.

“It started off well for us, then we got unlucky with the Red Flag. But hopefully we can have a good race tomorrow and get a good result for the whole team.

“It was a massive step up by the team and we weren’t expecting this. I was surprised myself. “Last year I started P2 and managed to finish on the podium as well, so we’ll see how tomorrow goes.”

Teammate Inthraphuvasak echoed those sentiments.

“I think this qualifying result definitely gave us a confidence boost even for the next rounds. The team has been putting in a lot of work throughout the whole season to be where we're at now and we're slowly improving, so I’m super thankful for everyone working in the team.

“We've had a difficult start to the season but it's kind of all coming together slowly. I'm happy to qualify in the top 12 today.

“It will be a bit different than my starting positions from the start of the season, but hopefully with a good start and clean air, we can manage the tyres and make a good, clean race and then also fight for points in the Feature Race.”